1 . Which is safer-staying at home, traveling to work on public transport, or working in the office? Surprisingly, each of these carries the same risk, which is very low. However, what about flying compared to working in the chemical industry? Unfortunately, the former is 65 times riskier than the latter! In fact, the accident rate of workers in the chemical industry is less than that of almost any of human activity, and almost as safe as staying at home.

The trouble with the chemical industry is that when things go wrong they often cause death to those living nearby. It is this that makes chemical accidents so newsworthy. Fortunately they are extremely rare. The most famous ones happened at Texas City (1947), Flixborough( 1974), Seveso (1976), Pemex (1984) and Bhopal (1984).

Some of these are always in the minds of the people even though the loss of life was small. No one died at Seveso, and only 28 workers at Flixborough. The worst accident of all was Bhopal, where up to 3,000 were killed. The Texas City explosion of fertilizer killed 552. The Pemex fire at a storage plant for natural gas in the suburbs of Mexico City took 542 lives, just a month before the unfortunate event at Bhopal.

Some experts have discussed these accidents and used each accident to illustrate a particular danger. Thus the Texas City explosion was caused by tons of ammonium nitrate (硝酸氨), which is safe unless stored in great quantity. The Flixborough fireball was the fault of management, which took risks to keep production going during essential repairs. The Seveso accident shows what happens if the local authorities lack knowledge of the danger on their doorstep. When the poisonous gas drifted over the town, local leaders were incapable of taking effective action. The Pemex fire was made worse by an overloaded site in an overcrowded suburb. The fire set off a chain reaction of exploding storage tanks. Yet, by a miracle, the two Largest tanks did not explode. Had these caught fire, then 3,000 strong rescue team and fire fighters would all have died.

1. Which of the following statements is true?

A．Working at the office is safer than staying at home.

B．Travelling to work on public transport is safer than working at the office.

C．Staying at home is safer than working in the chemical industry.

D．Working in the chemical industry is safer than traveling by air.

2. Chemical accidents are usually important enough to be reported as news because________.

A．they are very rare

B．they often cause loss of life

C．they always occur in big cities

D．they arouse the interest of all the readers

3. From the passage we know that ammonium nitrate is a kind of________.

A．natural gas, which can easily catch fire

B．fertilizer, which can’t be stored in a great quantity

C．poisonous substance, which can’t be used in overcrowded areas

D．fuel, which is stored in large tanks

4. From the discussion among some experts we may conclude that ________.

A．natural gas stored in very large tanks is always safe

B．to avoid any accidents we should not repair the facilities in chemical industry

C．all these accidents could have been avoided or controlled if effective measures had been taken

D．the local authorities should not be concerned with the production of the chemical industry

2 . Maeve Higgins once set herself a task. The Irish-born comedian wanted to see what life would be like if she stopped laughing at things that weren’t funny. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as she thought. “It was so hard,” she says. “ Laughter is a lubricant (润滑油) and is expected, and it’s really hard not to do it.”

Higgins suggests there’s something particularly special about being part of the shared experience that is live comedy — that curious magic that occurs when people come together specifically to laugh.

Comedy is more than just a pleasant way to pass an evening, humour more than something to amuse. They’re interwoven into our everyday existence. Whether you’re sharing an amusing story at a party or telling a dark joke at a funeral, humour is everywhere. But what is it for? And can humour, as comedy, change how we feel, what we think or even what we do?

As an essential part of human interaction, humour has been on the minds of thinkers for centuries. One of the most enduring theories of humour was put forward by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. It asserts that humour appears to make fun of the weak and exert superiority. While this is clearly the function of some comedy, it’s far from a complete explanation for the overall purpose of humour.

For some comedians, it’s not just about getting laughs — it’s about changing what we think and maybe even what we do. If there’s one comic who is really typical of this, it’s Josie Long. A social justice activist and a comedian, Long has a reputation for delightful, optimistic humour and storytelling.

As her career has evolved, she has consciously put social and political topics at the heart of her act. She believes that comedians have a role to play in challenging some of the most pressing issues of the day.

British comic Stephen K Amos sells out venues seating thousands, year in, year out. Amos firmly believes that when comics consciously deal with pressing or controversial （有争议的）social issues like racism, they can reach people on a much more meaningful level than that achieved by briefly lifting someone’s mood. And while it may be difficult to quantify, he says, the social and psychological impact of comedy deserves much greater recognition.

The research backs this up. Although the role of comedy is to be entertaining first and foremost, Sharon Lockyer, a sociologist who studies humour, has identified a number of possible other functions. These include challenging stereotypes (刻板印象).

Amos’s work frequently settles the issues of race by challenging stereotypes.”I don’t do things for shock value,” he says. “ I do stuff that matters to me. In the old days it was just about doing jokes. We’ve moved on — people are talking about things that matter. ”

1. What do the first two paragraphs mainly talk about?

A．The benefits of laughing.

B．What a comedian’s daily work is about.

C．Why Maeve Higgins chose to be a comedian.

D．Maeve Higgins’ understanding of the appeal of comedy.

2. What does the underlined phrase in Paragraph 4 most probably mean?

A．Protect the weak from the evil.

B．Encourage people to be stronger.

C．Be determined to improve oneself.

D．Show you are better than other people.

3. According to the article, how does comedy have an effect on social issues?

A．By gradually influencing people’s attitudes.

B．By urging politicians to try and solve the issues.

C．By quickly yet thoroughly changing people’s thinking.

D．By calling on the whole society to pay attention to the issues.

4. According to the article, comedy includes the following roles except ________ .

A．getting people to laugh

B．promoting social progress

C．influencing people’s ideas

D．making people more productive

3 . Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. peak            B. bound       C. considerate          D. announced     E. defeated          F. related             G. determination       H. measure     I. fever               J. serve               K.   considerable

It was very hot outside. The Chengdu Little Warriors were facing off against the Legendary Mighty Dragons of Beijing at a local indoor skating-rink (溜冰场). When I arrived, the Little Warriors, whose oldest player was eight years old, had just     1     their northern competitors. Near the lockers, a poster advertised hockey classes. Olympic     2     has begun to spread so far south that Chengdu now has nine skating-rinks and local hockey leagues for both kids and adults. It clearly shows China’s     3     to take the opportunity of holding the Olympics to promote winter sports across the country.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games were praised as a success by almost every     4    : the wonderful opening ceremony, the tight security, the large crowds of     5     volunteers, and Team China’s place atop the gold-medal rankings. Each aspect of the event signaled the country’s arrival as a world power, capable of competing with the best and winning.

If 2008 was about China getting a seat at the table, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games     6     a different purpose. China's status as a global power is no longer in question. Beijing 2022 will not be just a two-week sporting event but the     7     of a multi-year campaign to promote winter sports. “ We no longer need to put on shows of ten thousand people performing Tai Chi,” said Zheng Kan. “ Now we just want to show that we are relatable.”

While the audience for winter sports may still be a small, relatively rich group, it is growing. To prove his commitments (承诺) to winter sports, President Xi Jinping     8     a “ three hundred-million-person winter-sports plan.” The plan is aimed at raising China’s participation rate in winter sports from less than two percent to twenty-two percent. Some schools in Beijing have already introduced courses     9     to winter sports. A high-speed rail line that was opened at the end of 2019 cuts travel time between Beijing and Zhangjiakou, where many of the events will be held in 2022, to under an hour.

With all these efforts, the 2022 Winter Olympic Games are     10     to be wonderful and unforgettable.

4 .

The Paint Creek Recreation Trail is the flagship pathway of a planned trail network in the Ohio counties of Fayette, Ross and Highland. Nearly 35 miles of paved trail are currently open linking the communities of Washington Court House, Frankfort and Chillicothe.

The vast majority of the trail occupies a former railroad corridor acquired by the local nonprofit trails group in 1994. However, the trail does leave the original corridor where the right-of-way could not be acquired from its current owners. The diversions are usually short, with the longest stretch being a 2.5 mile stretch of highway cast of the Washington courthouse.

Because most of the trails through rural Ohio are dominated by seemingly endless fields, trail users are exposed to the sun for long periods of time. Fortunately, the path occasionally winds through a more wooded corridor near local waterways, such as Paint Creek and the Scioto River.

The Paint Creek Recreation Trail also passes through the downtown areas of the three towns along the way, offering many opportunities for rest and energy. Just before Chillicothe, trail users will want to stop at Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. The Hopewell Mound Group, a part of the park visible from the trail along Sulphur Lick Road, features earthworks and tombs built by the local people nearly 2,000 years ago.

The existing Paint Creek Recreation Trail will one day make a significant contribution to local leisure and transportation. There are plans nowadays to develop new trails along former railroad corridors from Washington courthouse northwest to the existing Xenia-Jamestown Connector, southwest to Wilmington and cast to Circleville in Pickaway County.

1. Which of the following is true about the trail?

A．Most of the trail is not well remodeled.

B．Most of the trail used to be a railway passage.

C．Most of the trail goes through the centers of 13 towns.

D．Most of the trail is close to the local railway lines.

2. What’s the prospect of this trail in the future according to the passage?

A．It will take on a new look.

B．It will be part of a national historic park.

C．It will be bought by a nonprofit company.

D．It will play an important role in leisure and transportation.

3. Where might this article come from?

A．An American website on travel.	B．An English scientific magazine.
C．A lecture by a professor   of geography.	D．A travelers' notebook.

5 . Are we just thinking with our heads? No. The human brain is just like a telephone switchboard (总机), but not a whole system. Its function is to receive incoming signals, establish appropriate connections, and send the information to its destination. In order to provide efficient service, the body must function as a whole.

But where is the mind? Is it in the brain? Or the nervous system? Can we say that the mind is in a particular place? In fact, the mind is not a thing, not a leg, and not even a brain. Thinking is both a function and an activity. Aristotle, 2300 years ago, noted that the mind is to the body what the tool is to the worker. When the tool is not in use, there is no work. Charles Woolbert said that consciousness is what the body does.

If this activity is necessary for thought, it is also necessary for the transmission of thought from one person to another. Observe how people conduct their daily conversations. If you've never taken the trouble to do this, you'll have a surprise waiting for you, because good conversationalists are almost always in motion. Their heads nodded and nodded, sometimes so violently that you wondered how their necks could withstand the strain. Even the legs and feet are active. As for hands and arms, they rarely stay still for more than a few seconds at a time.

Remember, these people are not giving speeches. They're just people, trying to get their points of view across. They have no sense of movement. Their language has not been studied. They're just human beings in a human environment, trying to adapt to the social environment. However, their conversation is not only verbal, but also visual, involving almost every muscle in the body. Briefly, because people are really thinking, the speaker must be everywhere if he is to succeed in getting people to think.

1. Which of the following is the author's opinion?

A．Thinking is a social phenomenon.

B．Thinking is just a brain function.

C．Thinking is the sum total of bodily activity.

D．Thinking is a function of the nervous system.

2. To communication, it is necessary not only to use speech, but also           .

A．to use various bodily movements	B．to speak directly to the other person
C．to make the other person listen	D．to observe the other person's behavior

3. It can be inferred from the passage that the basic function of bodily activity in speech is to         .

A．make the listeners deeply moved

B．appeal to the sympathy of the audience

C．make the speaker understood

D．convey the speaker's implied meaning to the listeners

4. The best title for the passage would be         .

A．Spoken Language	B．Bodily Communication
C．Spiritual Activity	D．Proper Conversation

6 . Directions: Fill in each blank with a proper word chosen from the box. Each -word can be used only once. Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. targeted            B. culture        C. consumption       D. interview        E. combine F. distributed       G. especially     H. compete       I. extremely       J. estimates       K. old-fashioned

Spain Looks to Chinese Travelers

Spain's tourism industry is looking to Chinese tourists for its high-end market, according to the president of the Spain-China Tourism Association.

“It is the kind of tourism that is not only interested in the sun, beach and the all-included     1     . They enjoy good food, wine, history and nature, and the new Chinese tourists would also want to spend more money in Spain,” said Rafael Cascales in a recent    2     with Xinhua.

The Spanish business leader described the     3     Chinese tourists as being younger, more international, and perhaps including more women. “They also travel on their own or in couples or in smaller groups. The     4     large groups of visitors have not disappeared, but this new form of traveling is becoming more important,” he said.

Speaking of the     5     pattern of the new kind of Chinese tourists the Tourism Association president said, “The money they spend is     6     better because they will book one flight with one airline, the hotel with another company and the restaurant with another.”

In his eyes, “Chinese tourists are very important because they     7     two things: there are a large number of them and they spend more money than anyone else — almost four times more than tourists from other countries.”

They not only travel abroad in the summer months when Spain has to    8     with the sun and beaches in countries such as Turkey and Egypt, but also travel in the off-peak seasons of a year, according to Cascales.

Spain is the second most popular tourist destination in the world, only after France. It attracted about 82 million visitors in 2017, 700,000 of them from China, a number which the United Nations World Tourism Organization     9     will rise to about 1 million by 2021.

“We are ready; we have the infrastructure (基础设施)at every level,     10     in hotel capacity. Here those visitors can find what they are looking for, including the luxury items which distinguish them,” Cascales noted.

7 . Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

Buy a Cup of Coffee for a Stranger

Coffee has developed rapidly and soon become an essential friend and companion for many people.

    1     you first meet her, you'll   drink it for a while, feeling refreshed. Slowly, the deeper you go, the more you'll become addicted to it, attracted by her unique smell. You can't help but     2     (follow) her, and you always think coffee has a story.

Coffee can be traced back to about the 10th century AD. It was     3     the 16th century that coffee was introduced to Europe. The way that coffee is grown and made has been refined by the Arabs, and modern coffee is all beverages (饮料).

How about buying a cup of coffee for someone you'll never meet? It may sound like the latest trend in the coffee culture, but a suspended coffee is     4     (heartwarming) than a popular latte. The tradition born in a cafe in the southern Italian city of Naples is to buy a cup or two of coffee in advance for     5     who need it later in the day. A customer-in-need can then later ask if there is a suspended coffee available and have a hot drink     6     having to pay for it.

It may be hard to imagine that this idea has become an internet fashion, with countless coffee shops in Europe and North America     7     (participate) in the movement. The Facebook page alone has more than 28, 000 “likes". The tradition of suspended coffee is a long-standing one in Italy    8     increased in popularity after the Second World War. Agence France-Presse reported last week the practice was starting to be popular in other European countries     9     (hit) hard economically. More than 150 cafes in Bulgaria were taking part. At the very cafes customers can ask whether there are any suspended coffees available, and if so, they     10     (supply) with a beverage, thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

8 . Directions: Read the following passage. Fill in each blank with a proper sentence given in the box. Each sentence can be used only once. Note that there are two more sentences than you need.

Will Experimentation on Animals End?

One of the most debatable issues in science is the use of animals in research. Scientists experiment on animals for different reasons, including basic research to explore how organisms function, investigating potential treatments for human disease, and safety and quality control testing of drugs, devices and other products.

    1    However, opponents believe it is cruel and meaningless, as observations in animals often do not translate directly to humans.

In 1959, William Russell and Rex Burch proposed their “3Rs” guidelines for making the use of animals in scientific research more humane: restrict the use of animals; refine experiments to minimize distress; and replace tests with alternative techniques.     2     Around 29 million animals per year are currently used in experiments in the U.S. and Europeans Union countries. This is less than half the total in the mid-1970s —— a significant drop.

    3    Improvements in imaging methods that offer a look inside the bodies of animals allow scientists to get more and better data from each experiment than before.

For example, researchers previously had to do experiments with multiple mice at different stages of cancer development, but now they can watch the disease develop in a single living animal using a dye. Similarly, as brain-imaging techniques become more advanced, some questions that were addressed with experiments in monkeys before may be better answered by looking into the human brain now. “    4    ” says Larry Carbone, a senior veterinarian(兽医) at the University of California in San Francisco.

A．Over the course of five decades their guidelines have become widely accepted worldwide.

B．The awareness of animal protection contributes to the decline of the number.

C．Human volunteers must be able to replace monkeys more and more in the next 10 to 20 years.

D．New experimental techniques help to push numbers down.

E．Its supporters point to the long list of medical advances made possible with the help of animal research.

F．The number of the animals used in research is still considerable.

9 . It’s easy to assume that a vacation to Bali will cost a small fortune. There are plenty of accommodations, food and local transportation, and even the spas offer massages and treatments at value prices. However, you can easily spend a week or two in Bali for under $2,000, without having to sleep on the beach. Here are a few things to consider when planning Bali on a budget.

What is the best time to visit Bali on a budget?

If you’re on a budget, consider visiting Bali during the lower, wetter season, which runs from October through March. The crowds will be fewer, and both hotel rates and flights from abroad are often cheaper, except during the holiday period between mid-December and early January, when crowds swell. The only trade-off for the lower prices is the wet season. This time of year isn’t always ideal for sunbathing, and serious rainfall can make outdoor activities, such as whitewater rafting and visiting waterfalls and rice terraces, less than appealing. That said, even during rainy season, it doesn’t usually rain all day long. Expect bursts of sunshine between the storms.

What is the cheapest way to get around Bali?

The absolute cheapest way to get around Bali is by local bus, but it can take a long time. There are also tourist buses, including hop-on, hop-off options, that travel between different hubs across the island. Bali is well-served by taxis, both of the car and motorbike variety, and the prices tend to be affordable by international standards. Most drivers will offer you a fixed rate for full-day hires or to get from point A to point B, rather than using a meter.

Remember to bargain; doing so is particularly easy when a driver is on his own rather than at a taxi stand.

How much does food cost in Bali?

If you’re into fine dining, you can end up spending a large chunk of your budget on food. Eating at the average restaurant geared towards tourists is the best way to have a meal in Bali on a budget. A good meal should cost you around 100,000 rupiah (around $7), but if you’re willing to subsist mostly off of local specialties such as nasi goreng (fried rice) and eat at local restaurants, you can expect to pay around 30,000 rupiah ($2) to get fed. Best of all, most hotels and guesthouses in Bali come with free breakfast, and many offer heavier options of noodles and meat that may keep you full until lunch.

1. Which of the following situation can be best described by the underlined word trade-off in paragraph 2?

A．Jack got a reward after he returned the lost bag to its owner.

B．Lily spent much money buying some handicrafts at the local fair.

C．Wendy cancelled her trip in order to prevent the spread of the virus.

D．Sam was scolded by his parents for what he did in school last night.

2. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．It’s better for outdoor enthusiasts to visit Bali during the off season.

B．Passengers had better fix the price with drivers before the taxi pulls out from the station.

C．If on a tight budget, one is advised to visit Bali at the end of December every year.

D．It’s relatively economical to eat merely at average restaurants tailored to visitors.

3. In which column of a magazine can you most probably find this passage?

A．City and Transport.	B．Travel and Recreation.
C．Nature and Environment.	D．Food and Health.

10 . I’m a talker. I am keen on debating, gossiping and teasing when I have people to talk to. Under lockdown, however, I’ve only had my partner, Peter.

We not only lived, worked and travelled together, we mostly socialized together, too. Under the first UK lockdown, our already closeness began to feel uncomfortable. While talking to Peter, I could see his attention drift.

For the first time in our 10 years together, we needed to be alone. I tried to manufacture this by going on walks on my own, but a short walk wasn’t doing the job. I had hiked in remote spaces all over the world but always in a pair or group — for safety reasons. I considered my options and hit upon an idea: the semi-solo hike.

Could we do a circular hike but walk in different directions? This would give us the space and peace of a solo hike — done by a person alone. It felt like a promising way out, and he agreed to give it a try.

We started with a four-mile loop (环路) from Reeth. At the start, we parted ways. At first, I was aware of how close we were, which lessened the appeal. As I gained ground, however, I found myself very much alone. I set my own pace, and I decided to take my time.

I sat on a rock and breathed out. That moment — with the weak sun through the clouds and the breeze blowing — felt extraordinary to me. I was born and raised in London and had never imagined leaving until I met an outdoorsman. Now, my former life as a city girl felt crazy. In remembering what I had gained, I felt the tension leave me. There, in the chilly air, I no longer needed to talk. The semi-solo hike gave us a shared experience with added room to breathe.

I didn’t see Peter on the way but reunited back where we started, both pleased.

The semi-solo hike is admittedly silly in theory, but for me it has been a lifeline. It has given me the gift of time alone and, in a year of constant closeness, the joy of reuniting.

1. What motivated the author to adopt the semi-solo hike?

A．Peter’s disinterest in her words.

B．Her habit of venturing into the wild.

C．The lack of privacy under lockdown.

D．Her desire to engage in outdoor exercise.

2. How does the semi-solo hike work?

A．Their routes coincide sometimes during the hike.

B．They depart in a separate way to different destinations.

C．They hike in each other’s company throughout the journey.

D．They start and return to the same place by a different route.

3. Which of the following can describe the author’s feelings when she sat on a rock?

A．Fearless and refreshed.	B．Free and relaxed.
C．Tense and depressed.	D．Upset and embarrassed.

4. What message does the author convey with this text?

A．An appropriate distance creates beauty.

B．There are more solutions than difficulties.

C．Access to nature is better than social circles.

D．Hiking helps improve interpersonal relationships.